The 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club could mark the end of an iconic era. Phil Mickelson, who’s played in 33 U.S. Opens and has six runner-up finishes at the major championship, admitted there’s a “high likelihood” this could be his last.
Speaking ahead of this week’s LIV Golf League tournament at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia, the six-time major champion gave a blunt response when asked if this could be his final U.S. Open start.
“I haven’t thought about it too much,” Mickelson told reporters on Wednesday, per Mark Schlabach of ESPN. “There’s a high likelihood that it will be, but I haven’t really thought about it too much.”
The issue isn’t Mickelson’s desire to keep playing U.S. Opens. He simply might not receive another invite to the major championship.
Mickelson received a five-year exemption to the U.S. Open after winning the PGA Championship in 2021, but it will run out after the 2025 event at Oakmont. It won’t be easy for the 54-year-old to qualify for future U.S. Opens without that safeguard.
The top 60 players in the Official World Golf Ranking get invited to the U.S. Open, but there’s no pathway for Mickelson to get back there considering he’s 1,162nd in the world and dropping more every week. A possible — yet highly unlikely — path would be to win a major and lock up another five-year exemption. Mickelson has lifetime exemptions to the Masters and PGA Championship and can play in the Open Championship until he’s 60, but winning another major would be a minor miracle.
On LIV Golf, the only way to score a U.S. Open invite is to be No. 1 in the season standings on May 19 or at the end of the year. With Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann and other heavy hitters competing alongside him, Mickelson is likely out of luck there, too.
The most realistic option for Mickelson in 2026 and beyond would be to enter a U.S. Open qualifying event and play his way in. Max Homa, Rickie Fowler and dozens of other PGA and LIV players competed in final qualifying this year, but the golf legend might view those tournaments as beneath him.
The U.S. Open is still Mickelson’s white whale. He still needs a U.S. Open title to complete the career Grand Slam, but he’s running out of both time and opportunities.
